Raven Guard Captain

Here is my latest creation, a Raven Guard Captain.  Arguably he could also serve as a decent Chapter Master for the Raven Guard, and I'm thinking I might field him that way.

First Impressions of Codex: Space Marines

It’s thick.

There’s a huge background section which focuses on the Ultramarines. The Ultramarines are really being pushed as THE ultimate Space Marine chapter, which, in a way, they are.

This is bound to anger some of the other founding chapter players, like Blood Angels, Dark Angels, Space Wolves, etc. But there’s a reason why the Ultramarines are dominant. They came out of the Horus Heresy largely intact, which cannot be said for the other loyalist chapters. Their dominance shows in the fact that 3/5 of all Space Marine chapters are descended from the Ultramarines, and that the Codex Astartes is so prevalent. Some players may argue that the Ultramarines are "boring." Boring they might be to some players, but they make up for that with sheer power. If you want to play one of the more "characterful" chapters like Blood Angels, Dark Angels, or Space Wolves, that’s perfectly fine, but don’t complain when the Ultramarines are described as being more powerful. Those chapters are cool because of their character, not their raw power, and that’s why you wanted to play them in the first place. Still, a line like this is bound to cause some legitimate gnashing of teeth: "Some [chapters], such as the Blood Angels and their successors, strive to be worthy of Guilliman’s legacy, but their recalcitrant gene-seed drives them ever further from it." (p.24)(emphasis added) I would think that the sons of Sanguinius would want to tell the person making that statement that Guilliman’s successors should be striving to be worthy of the legacy of their angel-winged primarch, rather than the other way around. But then, Codex Space Marines is a book about the Ultramarines and their successors, so some creative license is expected.

Some of the background seems to have changed for some chapters, directly contradicting previously published works, for example:

For my beloved Raven Guard, previous background has stated that the Raven Guard never fully recovered from its decimation at Isstvan V, so they are constantly low on vehicles and other heavy equipment. Yet the new codex states that since Deliverance has the production capacity of a small forge world, the Raven Guard "rarely lacks for the materiel to prosecute its campaigns."(p.25)

For the Brazen Claws, it used to be canon that the chapter sent all 10 companies to fight in the 13th Black Crusade. Now, apparently the Brazen Claw embarked on a crusade into the Eye of Terror after their Chapter planet was destroyed by daemonic forces. (p.29) I suppose that these two statements can be reconciled, but the old canon seemed to indicate that they went on crusade along with all the other imperial forces, whereas now they seem to be on a lone crusade motivated by revenge.

In the 5th Edition 40k rulebook, it states that in 546.M32, the Halo Brethren, Imperial Fists, and Sable Swords Chapters kill the traitorous Drakan Vangorich, Granter Master of the Officio Assassinorum. (p.124) Yet in Codex: Space Marines, it states that the Sable Swords Chapter was "[f]ounded in the latter years of M41" (p.28).

Here’s a list of the things that jumped out at me while looking at how my armies would be affected by the new codex:

Assault Marines essentially get their jump packs for 2 points a model. They can forgo the jump packs as in the past, but they do not get a points credit like they used to. But since the packs are cheaper now, it doesn’t matter much.

Techmarines lose their signum, but the Devastator Sergeant gets one as standard, which is a net gain as far as I’m concerned.

Terminator Honors is gone, so my captain effectively loses an attack. But then, my captain can get Hellfire rounds for his bolter, which is very cool.

Space Marines did go up in cost, but Rhinos went down in cost, and the basic special/heavy weapon loadout (flamer/missile launcher) is free, so a standard tactical squad with transport costs less now than it used to. (205 as compared to 219 points)

Captain Shrike can get a command squad all armed with Lightning Claws, but there is NO option for them to get jump packs. I have to think that this is an oversight. (Update: As somewhat_damaged pointed out, it is possible to get Shrike's Wing by using a Vanguard Veterans Squad instead of a Command Squad, and you can always field a Command Squad separately. A little roundabout way of doing it, but it works.)

Razorbacks get the Lascannon & twin-linked plasma gun option again, which allows players to use the old school Razorback again. I don’t own one, but I know this will make some players happy.

The Landspeeder Storm looks to be really cool, and their Cerberus Launcher seems cool to supplement the scouts assaulting, but it begs the question: Why on earth would you assault anyone with a 5-man scout squad? There are very few targets that would make this worthwhile, unless they’re supporting the assault of another friendly unit, or attacking extremely weak units. It doesn’t seem like this will happen enough to make them worthwhile to get.

Scout shotguns are now S4, which makes them worth getting now.

My Brazen Claws are begging me to get them some Sternguard and a Land Raider Redeemer.

Raven Guard Army

I was very much attracted to the background of the Raven Guard. They weren't litany spouting fanatics like the Black Templars, and they specialized in special operations type raids, while still being capable of taking the enemy head on if necessary. They encourage initiative and independent thinking in their commanders. (If only I could live up to their example...) Since the Raven Guard are described as having limited resources with respect to heavy equipment, and having access to the older suits of armor (especially Mk 6 Corvus Armor), I thought they were the perfect marines to be represented by my oldest miniatures, including the first plastic space marines ever released, back in 1989 (I think).

This army was most recently featured in the Silex Campaign, a series of four battle reports.

Elements of the Raven Guard 4th Company and supporting units





Captain Shrike, or in my incarnation, Captain Aidenn of the 4th Company


Command Squad with Lightning Claws


Techmarine Passerion


Terminators


Tactical Squad 1 with transport


Tactical Squad 2


Tactical Squad 3


Tactical Squad 4


Assault Squad 7 (without jump packs)


Assault Squad 8-Alpha


Devastator Squad 9


Devastator Squad 10


Predator Destructor


Land Speeder Typhoon

Scouts

Army List
HQ
Captain Aidenn (counts as Captain Shrike) - 175pts
Aidenn's Wing (counts as Shrike's Wing) - 306pts

Elites
Terminator Squad (Assault Cannon, Heavy Flamer, Sgt. with Power Sword) - 230pts
Techmarine - 65pts

Troops
Tactical Squad (Plasma Gun, Missile Launcher, Sgt. with Terminator Honors, Power Weapon, Bolt Pistol) with Rhino (Smoke Launchers) - 248pts
Tactical Squad (Flamer, Missile Launcher) - 166pts
Tactical Squad (Flamer, Sgt. with Terminator Honors, Power Weapon, Bolt Pistol) - 181pts
Tactical Squad (Flamer, Missile Launcher) - 166pts
Scout Squad (Heavy Bolter, 6 sniper rifles) - 139pts

Fast Attack
Assault Squad (w/out jump packs, 2 Flamers, Sgt. with Terminator Honors, Power Fist & CCW) - 192pts
Assault Squad (w/jump packs, Sgt. with Terminator Honors, Power Fist & Plasma Pistol) - 150pts
Land Speeder Typhoon (Multimelta) - 85pts

Heavy Support
Devastator Squad (4 Heavy Bolters) - 195pts
Devastator Squad (4 Missile Launchers) - 170pts
Predator Destructor (Sponson Heavy Bolters, pintle Storm Bolter)

Total: 2468 points

Battle Report: The Silex Campaign, Parts Three and Four

These battles are the third and fourth battles in a four battle mini-campaign between Orks and the Raven Guard. The battles center around a small Ork Waaagh that is rapidly forming on Silex, a moon in the Arcadia System. An Aquila Shuttle transporting a ancient artifact known only as the power matrix, attempts to evacuate Silex to prevent the artifact from falling into Ork hands. Unfortunately, the Orks shot down the shuttle and recovered the matrix, stealing it from the hands of a Raven Guard strike force. The Raven Guard had successfully ambushed Big Mek Grotsmaka and recovered the power matrix. Now the ground forces needed to make their way to a predetermined landing zone, and wait for the Thunderhawks to arrive. Mad Dok Kinstorg would be moving in force to take the power matrix back. Above, an Imperial Fleet was moving into to extract the Raven Guard ground forces, while an Ork fleet moved in to stop them.

Battlefleet Gothic: Imperial vs. Orks, 580pts
Warhammer 40,000: Raven Guard vs. Orks, 1,550pts

Battle Report: The Silex Campaign, Part Two

This battle is the second battle in a four battle mini-campaign between Orks and the Raven Guard. The battles center around a small Ork Waaagh that is rapidly forming on Silex, a moon in the Arcadia System. An Aquila Shuttle transporting a ancient artifact known only as the power matrix, attempts to evacuate Silex to prevent the artifact from falling into Ork hands. Unfortunately, the Orks shot down the shuttle and recovered the matrix, stealing it from the hands of a Raven Guard strike force. Now that they had the power matrix in their possession, Big Mek Grotsmaka was trying to bring it to his workshop so he could use it in the construction of a Gargant and other nefarious weapons. Such a powerful war machine could be used to launch the Waaagh! in earnest. Captain Aidenn and his surviving Raven Guard, however, had an ambush planned, and would attempt to snatch the power matrix away from the Orks before it was too late.

Battle Two: Ambush, 1800 pts This mission represents the loser of Battle One ambushing the winner, in a last ditch effort to recover the power matrix.

Raven Guard vs. Orks, 1,800pts

Battle Report: The Silex Campaign, Part One

This battle is the first battle in a four battle mini-campaign between the Orks and the Raven Guard. The battles center around a small Ork Waaagh that is rapidly forming on Silex, a moon in the Arcadia System. An Aquila Shuttle transporting a ancient artifact known only as the power matrix, attempts to evacuate Silex to prevent the artifact from falling into Ork hands. Unfortunately, the Orks shoot down the shuttle and attempt to recover the power matrix—if they succeed in getting hold of the matrix, they can use it in the construction of a Gargant and other nefarious weapons, which they could then use to launch their Waaagh! in earnest. On the way to Silex is the 4th Company of the Raven Guard, detailed to stop the Waaagh! in its infancy. Discovering that the shuttle carrying the power matrix had been shot down, their objective changed—prevent the power matrix from falling into Ork hands. Failing that, they must do whatever is necessary to retrieve it from the Orks.


Battle One: Rescue
This mission represents the Raven Guard and the Orks arriving at the shuttle crash site at the same time in an effort to recover the power matrix.

Raven Guard vs. Orks, 2,240pts

Battle Report: Apocalypse!

With the release of Apocalypse, we decided it is high time to have the biggest battle yet. To maximize the insanity, we decided to use every miniature in our collections that we could get our hands on. The battle would be fought on my 9’ x 5’ table, broken out especially for this occasion. Even so, the table is still a bit small considering the amount of miniatures available, so the sides will be wall-to-wall with miniatures. Dividing the forces was pretty clear, although some rationalizing was needed as to why some of the forces would be allied for the battle. Allying Space Marines and Imperial Guard makes obvious sense, and allying them with Eldar and Tau is easy enough to explain. The bad guys…well, that was more difficult. After all, why would Tyranids or Necrons ally themselves with anyone? We decided that for the purposes of the battle, Chaos and Orks had formed a temporary alliance. Chaos had also managed to corrupt some Imperial Guard into fighting for them (we split the Imperial Guard between the two sides to help equalize the points). We also decided that the Chaos Gods (Tzeentch, perhaps) had intervened and managed to “convince” the Tyranid Hive Mind to fight for Chaos. The Necrons…well, no one knows just why they do anything, so suffice it to say they showed up and started firing, and no one bothered to ask questions.

We began using the normal Apocalypse setup rules. The die roll to determine no-man’s land and deployment zones ended up being so close to exactly dividing the table in half, we decided to just split it right down the middle. Since the Forces of Order were ~750 points smaller than Disorder, they got three Strategic Assets to Disorder’s one. We were already behind schedule, so rather than poring over the rulebook to pick the most efficient assets, we randomly determined them. Order got Surgical Raids, Hold at all Costs, and Null Field Generator. Disorder got Flank March.

We bid to determine deployment order, with Order bidding 14 minutes, Disorder bidding 12. Seeing as the armies we just so big, we helped each other with deployment. After time ran out for Disorder’s deployment, and seeing how little we managed to actually get on the table, we tossed the rules out the window, and just deployed the entire force. It looked more impressive that way, and we wouldn’t have to deal with all the reserve rules. It also made Disorder’s strategic asset, Flank March, irrelevant. Once the Forces of Disorder were down, we deployed the Forces of Order. Looking at the sheer mass of miniatures on the table, we tossed the Objectives rules out the window as well. With the table wall-to-wall with miniatures, there was practically no room to place any! Therefore we decided on a straight out slugfest. This made Order’s strategic asset, Hold at all Costs, irrelevant. In the interests of time we also just decided to ignore Order’s Null Field Generator asset, and then promptly forgot about the Surgical Raids asset, but then applied it later.

By the time we were actually ready to start playing, the day was already half over, so in many situations we just tossed out the rules to just get on with playing. I can’t emphasize enough the need to be organized to run a big battle like this. We had army lists printed out and all together in a binder for easy access, tons of dice and templates ready, tables ready to accept casualties and hold drinks, multiple tape measures, and all the codices stacked neatly for easy reference. And still we felt disorganized.

I’m sure that throughout the battle, there we plenty of times that we screwed up and forgot unit X’s special rule, or even basic rules of the game, but we glossed over all that in the interests of keeping the game moving forward, otherwise we’d have been there forever. It’s hard enough to keep the special rules of your particular army in mind, let alone running four or five armies totaling up to 13,000 points all at the same time! Still, the point of the game, Apocalypse especially, is to just have fun, and if some rules are forgotten in the grind, so be it.

We had one additional player show up and provide some more support and help us move things along a little, but for the most part, it was just me and Jacob. In taking notes and pictures, and with all the chaos going on, I know for a fact that there are some mistakes in the maps, but for the most part, they are accurate enough to show most of what happened.

Apocalypse Battle Report, 13,000pts

Battle Report: Eldar vs. Brazen Claw & Raven Guard Secure & Control

For this battle, Dan commanded the Eldar, while the Space Marine command was divided between Andy, who commanded the Raven Guard, and Jacob, who commanded the Brazen Claw. The scenario was determined randomly, and we got Gamma Secure & Control. It was determined that there would be five loot counters, each worth 440 Victory Points for our 2,200 point battle.

Eldar vs. Brazen Claw & Raven Guard, 2,200pts

Battle Report: Necrons vs. Raven Guard Recon

The Imperial Guard was unable to stem the Necron tide, so the Raven Guard moved into to strike.